Alfredo Gonzales
Alfredo Gonzales (アルフレド・ゴンザレス lit. arufuredo gonzaresu) is a semi-recurring character in Hajime no Ippo. He is a Featherweight professional boxer and Ippo's first Mexican opponent (as well as the first non-OPBF opponent), and the second person to defeat Ippo in a boxing ring. People in his hometown and around Mexico, think that he will be the next World Champion in the WBA division. Background Similar to other characters in the series, Alfredo grew up in the slums of a dangerous neighborhood in Mexico City where he got involved with street fights. From looking at Ricardo Martinez's matches, he saw how Ricardo helped people after his matches by interacting with the crowd more than other boxers. Ricardo became the light that helped Gonzalez become what he is now. Gonzalez always looked up the sky searching for "the light" to guide him. He was introduced to boxing at a young age by his coach. He climbed through the world rankings He fought two world title matches against Ricardo but lost, with his second fight taking him the furthest since he reverted to using his original fighting style. It is then that he came to Japan to fight Ippo in a preliminary world title challenge. History GO TO THE WORLD! Remaining with only two losses from the same champion, Ricardo, his only goal is to face him yet again. Alfredo is selected to be challenged in Japan from Kamogawa in a match against Makunouchi Ippo for Alfredo's rank, following up one of them to face Ricardo in the process. Although negotiations where difficult to make them come to Japan, the match was set ready. The following days Alfredo spokes to the champion himself over the phone, before his training session over at his gym to tell him straight up he wants another rematch with the condition being if he indeed does defeat Ippo, his challenge will be accepted. Ricardo not recalling who that is, Alfredo implies that once he defeats Ippo in that match it's a process to get first ranked for requesting the challenge. Alfredo before closing the phone and while getting ready with his gloves, tells him it's a little cold from him with the last message, that he will face him again. Somewhere at Mexico they reside, he and his girlfriend Lisa walk down the crowded market street to reach the park with the great view over the city. Alfredo grabs a young boy who just stole food from somewhere in the place, knowing them, they head together to apologize. A little later when they reach the park's viewpoint, Alfredo tells Lisa that he once was like that young boy, stealing whenever he was capable to and with any disagreement he would resort in violence as if it was natural response. They both overlook the city as Alfredo tells Lisa if she remembers the "Arena México", that Ricardo would invite the poor youth to watch his matches, regarding him as a respectable champion. Alfredo when he was young though did not feel the same way when he sat and watched the champion, as in his mind he had the champion as this egotistical rich individual who had it all and was inviting them there just so he could show off. Alfredo once there a specific night, witnessed Ricardo fighting a strong challengerRound 1015, p.14, saying that Ricardo's victory was such an inspiration for him that before knowing it he got up on his feet with both hands up in the air. Following up the moment that struck him the most though was what was said after the match by Ricardo. From succesfully managing to both agree, they get a flight over to Tokyo, Japan. Upon arriving at the airport, he is greeted by the press as they all notice his outfit is that of training, meaning he is already in battle mode. Successfully defeated Ippo in the 7th round by KO. Match History Appearance Alfredo is slim, pale-skinned, with sleek black hair. His forward bangs are parted on the left side. He has a long straight nose and sharp eyes, whose brows are always slightly furrowed. Personality When he first arrived at the gym in Japan, he was polite to his sparring partners and also really calm. He even said that Japanese people are really polite and good, but it turned out that his politeness was masking an aggressive and ruthless personality. By the 6th round during his match against Ippo, the look on his face changed completely to a highly aggressive look, about right after Ippo started using the Dempsey Roll. This shows his other side, the bad habits of his, the so called Mexican grim reaper "Metztli". Fighting Style Alfredo is a well-rounded Hybrid boxer with an effective, long-range jab. His main strategy is to use his jab to both distance himself from his opponent and stay on offense via counter punching. When the situation calls for it he can In-Fight effectively. With the experience he possesses from two world title matches, he is adept at outsmarting his opponents with world-class boxing strategies, such as using his jab and short upper to set up a one-two, to later execute a long hook (when the opponent is not expecting an attack from the side). It is said that his boxing is a mirror image of Ricardo's, and that he would likely be the world champion if Ricardo was not alive. Metztli Alfredo has "bad habits" which he forcefully seals away in his boxing matches; they are essentially a tendency to want to brawl. "Metztli" takes over when Alfredo is overcome with rage and anger. According to his trainer, in this mode Alfredo's offense is greatly increased, but his defense is lowered considerably, making him vulnerable to attacks. The problem with this style is that Alfredo is not a naturally tough boxer like other brawlers. Despite this, "Metztli" enabled Alfredo to push Ricardo in his rematch. Techniques *Motionless jab *Short uppercut *One-two *Long hook *Neck spin *Sway *Counter Weaknesses Though Ippo never exploited any weaknesses in Alfredo, it is mentioned by Alfredo's coach that he is a fragile fighter.Round 1059, p.11 For this reason his all-out offensive Metztli mode is actually a "double-edged sword." Gallery Manga Scenes= Alfredo_with_Lisa.png|Alfredo and Lisa. Alfredo talking to Lisa.png Alfredo in Mexico.png Alfredo catching Kid.png Alfredo remember Martinez as a kid.png Martinez talking to Alfredo.png|Martinez talking to Alfredo Alfredo arriving in Japan.png|Alfredo at the Airport Alfredo's Past.png Martinez defeating Alfredo.png|Alfredo losing to Martinez Machismo.png|Machismo means to him |-| VS Makunouchi Ippo= Alfredo_Deadly_Right.png|Alfredo's deadly right. Alfredo's OtherSide.png|Alfredo's other side, his bad habits. Ippo and Alfredo meeting.png|Ippo meeting Alfredo Ippo vs Alfredo 01.png Ippo vs Alfredo 02.png Ippo vs Alfredo 03.png Ippo vs Alfredo 04.png Ippo vs Alfredo 05.png Ippo vs Alfredo 06.png Ippo vs Alfredo 07.png Ippo vs Alfredo 08.png Ippo vs Alfredo 11.png Ippo vs Alfredo 13.png Ippo vs Alfredo 14.png Ippo vs Alfredo 15.png Ippo vs Alfredo 16.png Ippo vs Alfredo 17.png Ippo vs Alfredo 18.png |-| Manga Scenes (Low Quality)= Alfredo Gonzales.jpg |-| Video Game= Alfredo_PS3.png|Alfredo PS3 Trivia *His nickname, Mextli or Metztli, means god of war and bringer of storms, the patron of Aztecs, in other words the Mexican Grim Reaper. *Alfredo vs. Ippo is the longest match in the Hajime no Ippo series, spanning 38 total chapters and 11 months (335 days) of releases. *His KO victory against Ippo resembles the KO Juan Manuel Márquez gave to Manny Pacquiao in their fourth fight; curiously it was also a Mexican vs. an Asian. *He shares alot of similarities with real life professional boxer Juan Manuel Márquez, when he was younger as a ranker in the featherweights. Most similarities are of being a natural counter puncher, known for being fast, highly technical fighter and also his aggressiveness at fights time to time. Not to mention that Alfredo looks alot like younger Márquez. He also has similarities to boxer Rosendo Alvarez, who was the only man to draw with Ricardo Lopez, whom Ricardo Martinez is based on. *In Round 1015, Alfredo mentions that Martinez used to invite poor kids to watch his matches. In the manga, the image shown looks like Alfredo watched Martinez vs Date I match, where Martinez broke Date's nose leaving a scar. Alfredo mentions "The challenger was strong that night...", even though Date ended up losing in the 2nd Round. *For Alfredo's ring entrance for his match with Ippo, he was wearing a sombrero hat and poncho. Martinez wore the same thing during his first match with Date. *The arena that Ricardo fought Date was shown to be Arena México in which Alfredo watched in a very young age. Judging by this location, it might be possible that Alfredo is from Colonia Doctores, Cuauhtémoc in Mexico City, though nothing has been confirmed. *The area that was shown where he was with his girlfriend Lisa, seems to resemble a bit real life Chapultepec Park in Mexico City, although it can possibly be any other location because some scenes had a vast sea in the backround, or could of been just an illustration method. References Category:Boxers Category:Male characters Category:Featherweights Category:Characters from Mexico Category:Characters Category:Out Boxers Category:Hybrid Boxers Category:Orthodox Boxers Category:World Ranker